Computer system and method for interim transaction diagnosis for selective remediation and customer loyalty enhancement

ABSTRACT

A customer feedback acquisition and processing system includes a data acquisition processor for receiving first and second customer feedback responses. The first customer feedback response is received by the data acquisition processor after notice of a claim is received and before the claim is resolved. The second customer feedback response is received by the data acquisition processor after it receives the first customer feedback response. The data acquisition processor may operate to classify the first customer feedback response in one of two categories. The two categories may be an attention-needed category and an attention-not-needed category. The system may also include a workflow router in communication with the data acquisition processor. The system may further include a supervisor terminal in communication with the workflow router.

FIELD

The present invention relates to computer systems and more particularlyto computer systems that are utilized in transaction handling.

BACKGROUND

Marketing experts are coming to recognize that engendering customerloyalty is a crucial ingredient in generating increased profitability.Typical tools for measuring customer loyalty include surveying customersafter completion of interaction between customers and company employees.Results of such surveys can be employed to improve employee training anddesigns of customer service practices. Such improvements may lead tofuture increases in customer loyalty. However, such surveys are likelyto be ineffective in regaining customer loyalty in regard to particularcustomers who have found their interactions with company employees to beunsatisfactory.

SUMMARY

A system is disclosed for customer feedback acquisition and processing.The system includes a data acquisition processor for receiving first andsecond customer feedback responses. The first customer feedback responseis received by the data acquisition processor after notice of a claim isreceived and before the claim is resolved. The second customer feedbackresponse is received by the data acquisition processor after receivingthe first customer feedback response. The data acquisition processor isoperative to classify the first customer feedback response in one of twocategories. The two categories are an “attention-needed” category and an“attention-not-needed” category.

The system further includes a workflow router that is in communicationwith the data acquisition processor, and a supervisor terminal that isin communication with the workflow router. The workflow router isoperative to route the claim to the supervisor terminal in response tothe first customer feedback response being classified in the“attention-needed” category.

In addition, the system includes a database storage unit incommunication with the data acquisition processor for storing data thatrepresents the first and second customer feedback responses. Stillfurther, the system includes a database processor in communication withthe database storage unit. The database processor is operative toidentify trends in customer feedback response data stored in thedatabase storage unit. Also, the system includes a display device incommunication with the database processor. The display device provides ascreen display indicative of an aggregation of the customer feedbackresponse data stored in the database storage unit.

By obtaining a customer's response to claim handling performance whilethe claim is still open, remedial action may be taken when necessary toprovide service that the customer considers to be satisfactory, therebybuilding customer loyalty in cases in which customers might otherwise bedisappointed.

With these and other advantages and features of the invention that willbecome hereinafter apparent, the invention may be more clearlyunderstood by reference to the following detailed description of theinvention, the appended claims, and the drawings attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially functional block diagram that illustrates aspectsof a computer system provided in accordance with some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that provides another representation ofaspects of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates a loyalty data servercomputer that may form part of the system of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a personal computer that maybe employed as a terminal for a survey employee in the system of FIGS. 1and 2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates a selling proposition servercomputer that may form part of the system of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the loyalty data server computer of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 shows a “dashboard” screen display that may be provided by theloyalty data server computer of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the survey employee terminal of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the selling proposition server computer of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, and for the purposes of introducing concepts of embodimentsof the present invention, a computer system is utilized to directemployees to conduct surveys relating both to closed claim files and toclaims that have yet to be resolved. Responses to thelatter—interim—surveys are evaluated to detect when the open claims aregoing off-track from the claimant's point of view. Remedial action istriggered through the computer system to rescue the handling of theclaim and to secure the claimant's satisfaction and loyalty. Resultsfrom one or both types of surveys are screened to detect customers whodisplay loyalty, and in those cases the computer system triggerscross-selling initiatives.

Features of some embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed by first referring to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a partially functionalblock diagram that illustrates aspects of a computer system 100 providedin accordance with some embodiments of the invention. For presentpurposes it will be assumed that the computer system 100 is operated byan insurance company (not separately shown) for the purpose of building,gauging and gaining benefits from customer loyalty.

The computer system 100 includes a database storage module 102. In termsof its hardware the data storage module 102 may be conventional, and maybe composed, for example, by one or more magnetic hard disk drives. Afunction performed by the data storage module 102 in the computer system100 is to receive, store and provide access to files relating toinsurance claims. The claims may be from one or more different lines ofinsurance, such as worker's compensation, property and casualty,automobile, etc. The data storage module 102 may also store data thatreflects responses by claimants to the customer satisfaction surveysthat are described below. (The customers who are to be surveyed may bepolicy holders who are making a claim or alternatively may benon-policy-holders such as individuals whose vehicles sustained damagein a collision with insured vehicles. Both groups of individuals willhereinafter sometimes be referred to as “claimants”.) Still other datamay be stored in the data storage module 102, including for example datathat is relevant to providing selling propositions to claimants who haveindicated loyalty to the insurance company. Where the claimant is not apolicy holder, the selling proposition may be designed to convert theclaimant to be a customer. Where the claimant is a policy holder, theselling proposition may be designed to take advantage of a cross-sellingopportunity.

The data stored in regard to the customer satisfaction surveys mayinclude recordings of the claimants' voices. Although the data storagemodule 102 is depicted as a single device in FIG. 1, in practice itsfunctions may be spread among a number of different devices, such asplural server computers which incorporate their own storagecapabilities.

The computer system 100 may also include a data communication network104 to which the data storage module 102 is coupled. The datacommunication network 104 may for example be conventional in itsconstruction and functionality, and may serve as an “intranet” for theinsurance company. In some embodiments the data communication networkmay also incorporate and/or be connected to a public data communicationnetwork (not separately shown) such as the Internet.

The computer system 100 may further include a number of terminals 106that may be employed by employees of the insurance company who areassigned to conduct customer satisfaction surveys in regard to thecompany's handling of insurance claims. As will be seen, the terminals106 (hereinafter referred to as “survey terminals”), may be constitutedby conventional personal computers coupled to the data communicationnetwork 104. One function that may be performed by the survey terminals106 is to input data indicative of claimants' responses to interim andfinal customer satisfaction surveys.

In addition, the computer system 100 may include a data acquisitionprocessor 108 that is also coupled to the data communication network104. The data acquisition processor 108 may be constituted by one ormore conventional microprocessors included in one or more servercomputers (not separately shown in FIG. 1) that may be programmed tofunction in accordance with the present invention. The data acquisitionprocessor 108 may function to receive the customer feedback responsedata from the survey terminals 106 (via the data communication network104) and to store the customer feedback response data in the databasestorage module 102. The data acquisition processor may also classify thecustomer feedback responses as to whether the responses aresatisfactory, unsatisfactory, indicative of customer loyalty, etc. (Insome embodiments, the responses may be at least partially so classifiedat the survey terminals 106, in which case the data acquisitionprocessor 108 may be deemed to at least partially overlap with thesurvey terminals 106.)

Still further, the computer system 100 may include a number of terminals110 operated by supervisory employees of the insurance company. Like thesurvey terminals 106, the terminals 110 (hereinafter referred to as“supervisor terminals”) may be constituted by conventional personalcomputers coupled to the data communication network 104. The supervisoryemployees who operate the supervisor terminals 110 may be charged withsupervising claim handlers whose claim files are stored in the datastorage module 102.

Moreover, the computer system 100 may include a workflow router 112 thatis coupled to the data communication network 104 and thus is incommunication, at least from time to time, with the data acquisitionprocessor 108. The workflow router 112 may be constituted by one or moreconventional microprocessors that may for example be included in one ormore conventional server computers (not separately shown in FIG. 1). Forexample, the workflow router 112 may at least partially overlap with thedata acquisition processor 108. The workflow router may operate toroute, to the supervisor terminals 110, claim files determined, fromclaimants' responses to interim customer satisfaction surveys, to be inneed of remedial attention to achieve customer satisfaction. In someembodiments, the workflow router may also operate to capture and recordactions taken by supervisors in response to the messages to them thatindicate a need for remedial attention.

The computer system 100 may also include a database processor 114 thatis coupled to the data communication network 104, and thus is incommunication, at least from time to time, with the database storagemodule 104. The database processor may be constituted by one or moreconventional microprocessors that may for example be included in onemore conventional server computers (not separately shown in FIG. 1) thatmay be programmed to function in accordance with the present invention.For example, the database processor 114 may at least partially overlapwith the data acquisition processor 108. The database processor 114 mayoperate to identify and report trends in customer feedback response datastored in the database storage module 104 by the data acquisitionprocessor 108.

Still further, the computer system 100 may include a display device 116that is coupled to the data communication network 104. Accordingly, thedisplay device 116 may be in communication, at least from time to time,with the database processor 114. As will be appreciated from subsequentdiscussion, the display device 116 may be employed to provide one ormore screen displays concerning customer feedback responses to interimand/or final surveys, including summaries, trends and/or aggregations ofcustomer feedback response data.

In addition, the computer system 100 may include a sales processor 118that is coupled to the data communication network 104. The salesprocessor 118 may be in communication, at least from time to time, withthe database storage module 102, the data acquisition processor 108 andthe workflow router 112. The sales processor may be constituted by oneor more conventional processors that may for example be part of one ormore conventional server computers (not separately shown) that may beprogrammed to function in accordance with the present invention.

Also, the computer system 100 may include a sales terminal 120 coupledto the data communication network 104 and thus in communication, atleast from time to time, with the workflow router 112. The salesterminal 120 may for example be constituted by a conventional personalcomputer that may be programmed to function in accordance with thepresent invention.

As will be understood from subsequent discussion, the data acquisitionprocessor 108 (possibly in conjunction with one or more other componentsof the computer system 100) may operate to selectively classify customerfeedback responses to the final survey as “company-loyal”, i.e., asevidencing customer loyalty toward the insurance company that operatesthe computer system 100. In response to such a classification of acustomer feedback response, the sales processor may generate a sellingproposition for the customer in question. For example, a sellingproposition may include an offer to supply to the customer a policy fora line of insurance that the customer does not currently have in forcewith the insurance company. The workflow router 112 may operate to routethe selling proposition to the sales terminal 120. The sales terminalmay be operated by a sales agent or other employee of the insurancecompany or of an affiliate of the insurance company, such as anindependent insurance agent or another insurance company affiliated withthe insurance company that operates the computer system 100.

In some embodiments, a customer who exhibits loyalty to the insurancecompany may be asked to consent to the company sending an electronicmail message to friends, family and/or business associates of thecustomer to present the customer's endorsement of the insurance companyand to ask those individuals to become customers of the insurancecompany. FIG. 2 is a block diagram that provides another representationof aspects of the computer system 100. FIG. 2 shows the same datacommunication network 104, survey terminals 106 and supervisor terminals110 that were depicted in, and described in connection with, FIG. 1.FIG. 2 also depicts other components of the computer system 100 in amore hardware-oriented manner than FIG. 1. Thus, other components of thecomputer system 100 shown in FIG. 2 may constitute components of thesystem that were functionally depicted in FIG. 1. For example, thecomputer system 100 may include a policy holder data management servercomputer 202 and a claim data management server computer 204. The lattertwo servers may together constitute some or all of the functionalityascribed above to the data storage module 102 shown in FIG. 1. Thepolicy holder data management server computer 202 and the claim datamanagement server computer 204 may both be constituted and operated in asubstantially conventional manner. The policy holder data managementserver computer 202 may store data concerning policies in force with theinsurance company, including names, addresses, etc. of policy holders,types and terms of coverage, policy effective dates, coverage amounts,etc. The claim data management server computer 204 may store dataconcerning claims made against the insurance company, includes names andaddresses of claimants, date of loss, and all other informationaccumulated during investigation and settlement/resolution of theclaims.

Other components of the computer system 100 not explicitly depicted inFIG. 1, but shown in FIG. 2, may include a loyalty data server computer206 and selling proposition server computer 208. Both of the latterserver computers are described below. Further, the computer system 100may include a number of other terminals 210, which may be conventionalpersonal computers operated by various employees of the insurancecompany and/or its affiliates. Such employees may be, for example,individuals performing line and/or staff management functions, claimhandlers, clerical and administrative employees, sales employees, etc.At least some of the other terminals 210 (like the terminals 106, 110)may include a conventional screen display (not separately shown in FIG.2) for presenting to the user screen displays generated on the terminalin question or downloaded from another component of the computer system100.

The computer system 100 may include other server computers (e.g., one ormore billing servers) in addition to the server computers shown in FIG.2. The functions ascribed to individual server computers herein may inpractice be divided up among two or more different computers. Also, thefunctions shown or described as being performed in separate computersmay in practice be combined within a single computer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates the loyalty data servercomputer 206. In its hardware aspects the loyalty data server computer206 may be entirely conventional, but programmed to providefunctionality as described herein.

As depicted, the loyalty data server computer 206 includes a computerprocessor 300 operatively coupled to a communication device 302, astorage device 304, an input device or devices 306 and an output device308. Communication device 302 may be used to facilitate communicationwith, for example, other servers/terminals/personal computers coupled tothe data communication network 104 (FIG. 1). Continuing to refer to FIG.3, the input device(s) 306 may comprise, for example, a keyboard, akeypad, a mouse or other pointing device, a microphone, knob or aswitch, an infra-red (IR) port, a docking station, and/or a touchscreen. The input device(s) 306 may be used, for example, to enterinformation. Output device 308 may comprise, for example, a display(e.g., a display screen), a speaker, and/or a printer. (Functionally,the terminals 106, 110 and/or 210 shown in FIG. 2 may also serve tooutput/display information downloaded thereto from the loyalty dataserver computer 206.)

Storage device 304 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g.,magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices, and/orsemiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devicesand Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.

Storage device 304 stores one or more programs or portions of programs(at least some of which being indicated by blocks 310-318) forcontrolling processor 300. Processor 300 performs instructions of theprograms, and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention.In some embodiments, the programs may include a program or programmodule 310 that programs the loyalty data server computer 206 to acquireclaim files (or excerpts therefrom) for which customer satisfactionsurveys are to be performed.

Another program or program module stored on the storage device 304 isindicated at block 312 and is operative to allow the loyalty data servercomputer 206 to assign and manage administration of the customersatisfaction surveys.

Still another program or program module stored on the storage device 304is indicated at block 314. Program (or program module) 314 may programthe loyalty data server computer 206 to initiate, route and/or managetasks that are to be performed to perform remedial action with respectto open claim files for which claimants' responses to interim surveysindicate that the claimant is dissatisfied with the handling to date ofthe claim.

Another program/program module 316 programs the loyalty data servercomputer 206 to gather, receive, store and analyze data that representsclaimants' responses to the interim and final customer satisfactionsurveys. Among other functions that the program/program module 316 maycause the loyalty data server computer 206 to perform are aggregation ofthe claimants' responses and presentation of the aggregated responsedata to management and/or other employees of the insurance company.

A further program/program module 318 provides an interface between otherprogram functions of the loyalty data server computer 206 and theselling proposition server computer 208 (FIG. 2).

There may also be stored in the storage device 304 other software, suchas one or more conventional operating systems, device drivers,communications software, database management software, etc.

Still further, various kinds of data needed for operation of the loyaltydata server computer 206 may be stored in the storage device 304,including for example claim file data 320, and customer/claimantresponse data 322 gathered in response to the above-mentioned surveys.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a typical one of the surveyterminals 106 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In its hardware aspects, thesurvey terminal 106 may be entirely conventional, but may be programmedand/or may download interactive webpages so as to function in accordancewith aspects of the present invention.

As depicted, the survey terminal 106 includes a computer processor 400operatively coupled to a communication device 402, a storage device 404,an input device or devices 406 and an output device or devices 408.Communication device 402 may be used to facilitate communication with,for example, servers (e.g., the loyalty data server computer 206) and/orother terminals/personal computers coupled to the data communicationnetwork 104 (FIG. 1). Continuing to refer to FIG. 4, the input device(s)406 may comprise, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse or otherpointing device, a microphone, knob or a switch, an infra-red (IR) port,a docking station, and/or a touch screen. The input device(s) 406 may beused, for example, to enter information. Output device 408 may comprise,for example, a display (e.g., a display screen), a speaker, and/or aprinter. In some preferred embodiments, the output device(s) 408 and theinput device(s) 406 may collectively include a telephone handset and/orheadset and/or speakerphone arrangement by which the user of the surveyterminal 106 may engage in telephone conversations with claimants towhom the user administers customer satisfaction surveys. Datarepresenting the telephone conversations (including either or both ofthe user's (survey employee's) voice and the claimant's voice) may passthrough the survey terminal 106 as part of the voice communicationchannel between the survey employee and the claimant. At the same time,at least some of the voice data, including possibly the claimant'svoice, may be stored in the storage device 404 for subsequent uploadingto the loyalty data server computer 206.

Storage device 404 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g.,magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices, and/orsemiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devicesand Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.

Storage device 404 stores one or more programs or portions of programs(at least some of which being indicated by blocks 410-416) forcontrolling processor 400. Processor 400 performs instructions of theprograms, and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention.In some embodiments, the programs may include a program or programmodule 410 that programs the survey terminal 106 to acquire (e.g., fromthe loyalty data server computer 206) claim files (or excerptstherefrom) for which customer satisfaction surveys are to be performed.In some embodiments, the program/program module 410 may be at leastpartially constituted by a browser program by which the user may accessthe user's work queue (stored, e.g., on the loyalty data server computer206) and may access the individual claim files/file extracts by clickingon individual items in the user's work queue.

Another program or program module stored on the storage device 404 isindicated at block 412 and is operative to cause the survey terminal 106to guide/prompt the user in administering the customer satisfactionsurveys.

Still another program or program module stored on the storage device 404is indicated at block 314. Program (or program module) 414 may controlthe survey terminal 106 so as to enable operation of the above-mentionedtelephone terminal equipment that may be part of the survey terminal106. In addition, or alternatively, the survey terminal 106 may includea dedicated voice/telecom card (not separately shown) which effectivelycouples the telephone terminal equipment to the processor 400 anddrives/receives voice signals from the telephone terminal equipment.

Another program/program module 316 programs the survey terminal 106 toreceive, store, and forward to the loyalty data server computer 206,data that represents claimants' responses to the interim and finalcustomer satisfaction surveys.

There may also be stored in the storage device 404 other software, suchas one or more conventional operating systems, device drivers,communications software, database management software, etc. Stillfurther, various kinds of data needed for operation of the surveyterminal 106 may be stored in the storage device 404, as indicated at418 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates the selling propositionserver computer 208. Once again, the hardware aspects of this componentmay be entirely conventional, but the component may be programmed so asto perform functions in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention.

As depicted, the selling proposition server computer 208 includes acomputer processor 500 operatively coupled to a communication device502, a storage device 504, an input device or devices 506 and an outputdevice 508. Communication device 502 may be used to facilitatecommunication with, for example, other servers/terminals/personalcomputers coupled to the data communication network 104 (FIG. 1).Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, the input device(s) 506 may comprise, forexample, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse or other pointing device, amicrophone, knob or a switch, an infra-red (IR) port, a docking station,and/or a touch screen. The input device(s) 506 may be used, for example,to enter information. Output device 508 may comprise, for example, adisplay (e.g., a display screen), a speaker, and/or a printer.(Functionally, the terminals 210 shown in FIG. 2—including e.g. one ormore of such terminals functioning as a sales terminal 120 as shown inFIG. 1—may also serve to output/display information downloaded theretofrom the selling proposition server computer 208.)

Storage device 504 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g.,magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices, and/orsemiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devicesand Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.

Storage device 504 stores one or more programs or portions of programs(at least some of which being indicated by blocks 510, 512) forcontrolling processor 500. Processor 500 performs instructions of theprograms, and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention.In some embodiments, the programs may include a program or programmodule 510 that programs selling proposition server computer 208 toreceive, from the loyalty data server computer 206, data that identifiesand/or provides contact information for claimants whose survey responsesindicate that they are at least potentially loyal to the insurancecompany. The selling proposition server computer 208 may treat thisinformation as constituting sales leads, and may manage it accordingly,under control by the program/program module 510.

Another program or program module stored on the storage device 504 isindicated at block 512 and is operative to program the sellingproposition server computer 208 to generate and manage targeted sellingpropositions suitable for the individuals identified by the sales leadsforwarded to the selling proposition server computer 208 from theloyalty data server computer 206.

There may also be stored in the storage device 504 other software, suchas one or more conventional operating systems, device drivers,communications software, database management software, etc. Stillfurther, various kinds of data needed for operation of the sellingproposition server computer 208 may be stored in the storage device 504,as indicated at 514 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the loyalty data server computer 206.

At 602 in FIG. 6, the loyalty data server computer 206 makes contactwith the claim data management server computer 204 to determine whetherthere are open claim files that are currently suitable for administeringinterim customer satisfaction surveys to the claimants that correspondto the files. For example, the loyalty data server computer 206 maylearn from the claim data management server computer 204 what claimfiles have been open for a certain number of days and have not yet beenclosed/resolved. In some embodiments, the point in time at which a claimfile is deemed “ripe” for an interim survey may vary with the type ofclaim. For example, a worker's compensation case may be ripe for aninterim survey a different number of days after first notice of loss(FNOL) than an automobile damage claim. Similarly, a property damageclaim may be ripe for an interim survey at still a different number ofdays after FNOL. In some embodiments, and/or for certain types ofclaims, an interim survey may preferably be performed 5, 10 or 15 daysafter FNOL. The number of days may vary with type of claim because thetiming of activity may vary with type of claim.

In some embodiments, open claims of a suitable age (=days since FNOL)may be randomly selected for interim survey from the universe of suchclaims. In some embodiments, some open claims may be disqualified frominterim survey by certain factors; e.g., claims involving a fatality orlitigation may be disqualified. In some embodiments, all qualified openclaims may be interim surveyed.

Step 602 may also include the loyalty data server computer 206 obtainingthe pertinent claim files or file extracts, or hyperlinks pointing tothe same, from the claim data management server computer 204.

At 604, the loyalty data server computer 206 makes contact with theclaim data management server computer 204 to determine whether there arefiles eligible for a subsequent (potentially, final) customersatisfaction survey. This step may also include the loyalty data servercomputer 206 obtaining the pertinent claim files or file extracts, orhyperlinks pointing to them, from the claim data management servercomputer 204. The subsequent survey may be triggered by a certain event,which may vary with type of claim. For example, for a property damageclaim, the subsequent survey may be triggered by closing of the claimfile or payment of the claim. In some cases, a subsequent survey may betriggered by subrogation. For a worker's compensation claim, thesubsequent survey may be triggered at a set time (e.g., 120 days afterFNOL) or upon transition to handling of the file by a nurse claimmanager.

In some embodiments, there may be more than one subsequent survey, andthus a total of three or more surveys for the claim. In someembodiments, surveys may be initiated on an ad hoc basis. For example,in the case of a catastrophic loss event, some or all claimants may besurveyed to evaluate how well the insurance company has responded to thecatastrophic event.

In some cases, a pattern in the responses to one survey may suggest aneed or advantage for an additional survey to gain more informationconcerning issues raised by the survey responses. At 606, the loyaltydata server computer 206 assigns either or both open claim files (forinterim customer satisfaction surveys) or closed claim files (for finalcustomer satisfaction surveys) among the survey employees available toperform such surveys. In some embodiments, the assignment of claim filesto survey employees is entirely random. In other embodiments, theassignment of claim files to survey employees is partially random, butalso reflects the survey employees' experience with respect to type ofclaim, line of insurance and/or with respect to conducting interimversus final customer satisfaction surveys. In some embodiments,assignments of closed claim files are preferably or mandatorily made tothe same survey employee who conducted an interim customer satisfactionsurvey (if any) for the closed claim file in question. In otherembodiments, it is preferred or mandatory that the survey employeeassigned to administer the final customer satisfaction survey not be thesame individual who conducted an interim survey for the claim.

In some embodiments, assignment of a claim file (either open or closed,as the case may be) to a survey employee may be accomplished by theloyalty data server computer 206 placing a corresponding hyperlink inthe survey employee's work queue. Alternatively, the loyalty data servercomputer 206 may effect assignment of the claim file to the surveyemployee by sending to the survey employee an electronic mail messagewhich contains such a hyperlink. Either of these actions may beconsidered to constitute “routing” the claim file to the survey employeeand/or to his/her survey terminal 106.

In assigning the claim files, the loyalty data server computer 206 mayappend or link thereto the appropriate survey script for guiding thesurvey employee in conducting the desired customer satisfaction survey.In the case of an open claim file, the appended survey script may besuitable for conducting an interim customer satisfaction survey. In thecase of a closed/resolved claim file, the appended survey script may besuitable for conducting a final customer satisfaction survey. In eithercase, the survey script may be tailored as appropriate to the type ofclaim and/or to details of the particular claim or attributes of theclaimant. Examples of survey scripts will be described below inconjunction with the process illustrated in FIG. 8.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 6, at 608 the loyalty data server computer206 may receive, from the survey terminals 106, data that reflects theclaimants' responses to the interim and final customer satisfactionsurveys. In some embodiments, this data may include entries made by thesurvey employees to characterize the claimants' responses as requiringfurther attention (“attention-needed”) or not requiring furtherattention (“attention-not-needed”). In some embodiments, the responses,whether explicitly stated by the claimants or characterized by thesurvey employees, may be on a numerical scale from best to worst (orvice versa). In some embodiments, the data received by the loyalty dataserver computer 206 from the survey terminals 106 may include data thatrepresents recordings of claimants' voices and/or survey employees'voices recorded during the course of the surveys. In some embodiments,the customer's response to a “scale of 1-10” satisfaction question maybe used to categorize the customer as “loyal”, “passive”, or potentiallya “detractor”. Responses to further questions, or reasons given by thecustomer for his/her satisfaction rating, may be used to assign thecustomer to a more detailed category or subcategory. Voice recognitionand/or machine text analysis may be used for this purpose, or the surveyemployee may make the categorization/subcategorization of the customer.Either the satisfaction rating alone, or details of the customer'sresponse, or a question asked by the customer, may lead to the claimfile being flagged as “attention-needed”.

At 610, and based on claimants' responses to interim surveys, theloyalty data server computer 206 identifies open claim files for whichremedial action should be taken. That is, the loyalty data servercomputer 206 identifies open claim files for which the claimants'responses indicated that the claimants were not satisfied with themanner in which the insurance company was handling their claims. Then,at 612, the loyalty data server computer 206 routes each such open claimfiles to the supervisor terminal 110 operated by the supervisor of theclaim handler to whom the claim file was assigned for processing. Insome embodiments, the supervisor in question for the open claim file,and/or a network address for his/her supervisor terminal 110, and/or thesupervisor's e-mail address may be included in the open claim file orextract that the loyalty data server computer 206 obtained for the claimin question from the claim data management server computer 204. In otherembodiments, or other cases, the loyalty data server computer 206obtains the identity/network address of the supervisor from the claimdata management server computer 204 after identifying the open claimfile as being in need of remedial action.

In some embodiments, step 612 may be accomplished by the loyalty dataserver computer 206 sending an appropriate electronic mail message tothe supervisor. In other embodiments, the same may be accomplished bythe loyalty data server computer 206 adding an item concerning the claimfile to the supervisor's work queue. Either of these may include makingavailable to the supervisor a hyperlink that points to the claim file.

In some embodiments, the responses to the customer satisfaction surveysmay also be used in appraising claim handlers' job performance. At 614,the loyalty data server computer 206 collates the customer responses tothe surveys. For example, the loyalty data server computer 206 mayaggregate all interim survey responses that fall in the same categorywith respect to the degree of customer satisfaction with the handling ofthe claim. The aggregation of the responses may be on aquestion-by-question and/or claim-by-claim basis. The same may be donewith respect to final survey responses. The response data for interimand final surveys may, but need not, be combined.

At 614, the loyalty data server computer 206 may also perform variousstatistical analyses with respect to the survey response data. Forexample, the loyalty data server computer 206 may generate analyseswhich trace trends (step 618) in the survey response data, and/or whichaggregate the survey response data by period of time (e.g., daily,weekly, monthly, quarterly and/or annually), by claim-handling office,by individual claim handler, by work group, etc., by type of claim, byline of insurance, etc. Other analyses may provide averages of customersatisfaction ratings, standard deviations, etc. Based, for example, onthese analyses and/or aggregations, the loyalty data server computer 206may generate (step 616) and make available to some or all insurancecompany employees (via the computer system 100 and/or terminalcomponents thereof, as referred to above) one or more graphical displaysthat reflect the data, the aggregations thereof and/or the analysesthereof. FIG. 7 shows an example of one such display, provided in aso-called “dashboard” format.

Referring to FIG. 7, one display element 702 is in a “dial” format, andillustrates an average customer satisfaction level indicated by customerresponses to interim surveys for a certain type of claim. It will benoted that the dial display element 702 includes an “arrow” element 704that is displayed against a backdrop of circularly arranged gradationsto graphically present the average customer satisfaction data.

The dashboard display of FIG. 7 also includes another display element706, which is also a “dial” type element in the same format as displayelement 702. Dial display element 706 may be used to present an averagecustomer satisfaction level indicated by customer responses to finalsurveys for the same type of claim.

Other portions of the dashboard display, schematically represented at708 and 710 may numerically present data or results of data analyses,collated or generated by the loyalty data server computer 206.

The format of the customer survey response display or displays madeavailable by the loyalty data server computer 206 may vary from thatwhich is shown in FIG. 7. For example, other and/or additional types ofgraphical elements may be presented and/or the arrangement of thevarious elements within the screen display may be different. An over-allpresentation in a format other than a “dashboard” may be provided.

In some embodiments, the loyalty data server computer 206 may generate aseparate dashboard display for each type of claim. In addition oralternatively, the loyalty data server computer 206 may generate two ormore dashboard displays—each displaying different results of statisticalanalysis of survey responses—for a single type of claim. In someembodiments, the loyalty data server computer 206 may provide anavigation screen display (not shown) to allow users to navigate amongvarious dashboard displays of survey results.

In some embodiments, a dashboard display may also be a navigation tool.For example, a user may be permitted to “double click” on a displayelement (e.g., a dial display) in the dashboard display, and in responsethe computer system 100 may provide another display (not shown) showinga breakdown of information summarized in the display element. In thisway, the user may be permitted to “drill down” into the customersatisfaction data generated in the computer system 100.

The loyalty data server computer 206 may also analyze survey responsesto determine effects of remedial action following negative responses tointerim surveys. For example, the loyalty data server computer 206 mayexamine final survey results for claim files in which remedial actionfollowed a negative response to an interim survey, in order to determinewhether and/or to what extent the remedial action resulted in improvedcustomer satisfaction and/or customer loyalty.

Further, as indicated at 620 in FIG. 6, the loyalty data server computer206 may generate and make available various reports. These reports mayreflect the claim handling performance and trends therein as indicatedby the customer survey response data. The reports may be inpre-determined formats, or in formats prescribed on demand by authorizedemployees. The reports may summarize all available customer responsedata or may present subsets of the customer response data by type ofclaim, line of business, geographical area, etc.

At 622 in FIG. 6, the loyalty data server computer 206 may identifyclaimants who, by their responses to the final surveys, have evidenced afeeling of loyalty toward the insurance company that operates thecomputer system 100. This may be done, for example, on the basis of theclaimants indicating a high degree of satisfaction with the handling oftheir claim, and/or based on the claimants indicating that they wouldrecommend the insurance company to friends, relatives, businessassociates, etc. In addition or alternatively, the loyalty data servercomputer 206 may identify loyal claimants on the basis of theirresponses to interim surveys. The claimants may or may not be currentpolicy holders with the insurance company.

At 624, the loyalty data server computer 206 may forward, to the sellingproposition server computer 208, data that identifies the loyalclaimants referred to in connection with step 622.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby/with a typical one of the survey terminals 106.

At 802 in FIG. 8, the survey employee operates his/her survey terminal106 to access his/her work queue. At 804, the survey employee operatesthe survey terminal 106 to access the next/first claim file in the workqueue. This may occur, for example, by the survey employee “clicking” onthe first entry in the work queue, assuming that the first entry is ahyperlink that points to the claim file (or extract) in question.

At 806 in FIG. 8, the survey employee may use the survey terminal 106 toinitiate a telephone call to the claimant for the claim file accessed at804. For example, the accessed claim file, or extract, may include theclaimant's telephone number in a pre-determined data field. The surveyterminal 106 may present a graphical user interface (GUI; not shown) tothe survey employee. The GUI may include a virtual “start call” buttonor the like that the survey employee may “click” in order to launch atelephone call via the survey terminal 106 to the claimant's telephonenumber.

Following 806 in the process of FIG. 8, there is a decision block 808.At decision block 808, it is determined whether the claimant answers thetelephone call placed at 806. If so, then block 810 follows decisionblock 808. At 810, with the claimant's consent, the survey employeeproceeds to pose the survey questions to the claimant. In someembodiments, prior to posing the questions, the survey employee obtainsthe claimant's consent to have his/her voice recorded as part of thesurvey.

From previous discussion it will be understood that the survey may be an“interim” survey to be administered while the claim remains open, or a“final” survey to be administered after the claim has been resolved.

In some embodiments, the interim survey may be quite brief. For example,the initial question may be open-ended, such as asking the claimant howhis/her over-all claim experience is going so far. The survey employeemay judge whether the claimant's response is positive, neutral ornegative and may ask different follow-up questions accordingly. Thesurvey employee may also interact with the survey terminal GUI toprovide input to the survey terminal 106 (and thereby to the computersystem 100) as to whether the claimant's response to the initialquestion is positive, neutral or negative.

In the case of a positive response to the initial question, the surveyemployee may follow up by asking the claimant whether there wassomething specific that made the claimant feel positive about the claimexperience. In some embodiments, the survey employee may determine acategory for the claimant's response to the follow-up question (e.g.,among categories presented to the survey employee via the surveyterminal GUI) and may provide data entry accordingly into the GUI.

In the case of a neutral response, the survey employee's follow-upquestion may ask the claimant if there is something that the insurancecompany could do differently to provide better service. Depending on theclaimant's response, the survey employee may operate the survey terminal106 flag the claim file for remedial action. In addition oralternatively, the survey employee may provide data entry into thesurvey terminal 106 to indicate a category for the claimant's responseto the follow-up question, and/or may provide a text/narrativedescription of the claimant's response.

In the case of a negative response from the claimant, the surveyemployee may acknowledge the claimant's dissatisfaction, and may followup by asking if there is something specific that the insurance companycould do better to improve its service to the claimant. Preferably, thesurvey employee would operate the survey terminal 106 to flag the claimfile for remedial action. Alternatively, the claim file mayautomatically be flagged for remedial action simply by the surveyemployee indicating that the claimant's response to the initial questionwas negative. In addition, the survey employee may operate the surveyterminal 106 to provide text/narrative/categorization or other dataentry in order to input the claimant's response into the survey terminal106.

The interim survey may close with two more questions, namely asking theclaimant to rate his/her experience on a scale of 0-10, and asking forthe claimant's e-mail address (if not already in the claim file). Ineither or both cases the survey employee may enter the claimant'sresponse into the survey terminal 106. The survey employee may also askthe claimant whether he/she would be willing to be contacted for asubsequent survey at a later stage in the claim process.

A final survey script may also be rather brief. The final survey maybegin with the survey employee asking the claimant to rate, on a scaleof 0-10, how likely it is, based on the claimant's experience with therecently closed claim, that the claimant would recommend the insurancecompany to a friend or relative or business associate. In otherquestions, the survey employee may ask the claimant what he/she wouldtell other people about the insurance company, and/or may ask aboutspecific aspects of handling the type of claim in question. Also, incases where the claimant is not currently a policy holder, the surveyemployee may ask the claimant to rate, on a scale of 0-10, how likelythe claimant is to consider buying insurance coverage from the insurancecompany.

With respect to all of these questions, the survey employee may operatethe survey terminal 106 to enter data that reflects the claimant'sresponses.

Where either of the rating questions elicits a high score from theclaimant, the computer system 100 (e.g., via the loyalty data servercomputer 206) may classify the claimant as evidencing loyalty to theinsurance company, and thus suitable for generation of a sellingproposition from the selling proposition server computer 208.

With respect to either or both of the interim survey and the finalsurvey, step 810 may include recording at least part of the telephonecall, including either or both of the claimant's voice and the surveyemployee's voice.

For both the interim and final surveys, the survey design may be suchthat the survey can typically be completed in two to three minutes.

Decision block 812 in FIG. 8 indicates that the survey employeecontinues with the survey until it is determined that the survey iscomplete. Thus, if the survey is not complete, the process loops backfrom decision block 812 to block 810. But once the survey is determinedto be complete, the process of FIG. 8 advances from decision block 812to block 814. At block 814, the survey terminal uploads the datarepresenting the survey responses to the loyalty data server computer206. (Alternatively, this may later be done in a batch mode with datafor the surveys for other claim files.) The uploaded data may includeboth the information entered by the survey employee and also data thatrepresents the sound recording of the survey telephone call.

Considering again decision block 808 in FIG. 8, if it is determined atthat point that the claimant has not answered, then the process of FIG.8 may branch from decision block 808 to block 816. At block 816, thesurvey employee may, if possible, leave a voice message for theclaimant. For example, the survey employee may indicate in the messagethat he/she will attempt at a later time to contact the claimant, or askthe claimant to call back, or ask the claimant to send an electronicmail message as to when to call again. Further, at 818, the surveyemployee (or the survey terminal acting automatically) may requeue theclaim file for one or more further attempts to reach the claimant bytelephone. In some embodiments, the number of permissible attempts toreach the claimant may be limited, and the number of attempts made maybe kept track of, so that the claim file is not requeued when thelimited number of attempts has been reached.

Following either 818 or 814, as the case may be, is a decision block820. At 820 it is determined whether there are any more claim files inthe survey employees' work queue. If not, the process exits (822).Otherwise, the process loops back from decision block 820 to block 804for the purpose of accessing the next claim file in the work queue.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart that illustrates a process that may be performedby the selling proposition server computer 208.

At 902 in FIG. 9, the selling proposition server computer 208 determineswhether it has received, from the loyalty data server computer 206, areferral of a loyal or potentially loyal claimant, as identified throughthe final survey process described above. The referrals of suchclaimants to the selling proposition server computer 208 from theloyalty data server computer 206 may be made one-by-one as the loyalclaimants are identified and/or in batches.

As indicated by branch 904 from decision block 902, the process of FIG.9 may idle until such a referral is received by the selling propositionserver computer 208. However, as indicated by branch 906 from decisionblock 902, when such a referral is received, the process of FIG. 9 mayadvance from decision block 902 to block 908.

At block 908, and based on the information included in the referral thatidentifies the claimant, the selling proposition server computer 208 mayengage in a data look-up via, e.g., the policy holder data managementserver computer 202 and/or via the claim data management server computer204, to obtain more information about the claimant who has beenidentified as loyal. From the data look-up, the selling propositionserver computer 208 may obtain information concerning the claimant suchas whether the claimant already is a policy holder (although this factmay alternatively be included already in the referral) and if so underwhat kind or kinds of policies, for how long, with what specificinsurance products, with what policy limits, etc. Further, the sellingproposition server computer 208 may obtain by the data look-up at leastsome demographic information concerning the claimant, including forexample his/her age, gender, home address zip code, whether he/she livesin a single family residence or a multiple unit building, income level,marital status, composition of household, types of vehicles insured (ifany), employment status, etc.

At block 910, and based on information obtained by the sellingproposition server computer 208 at 908, the selling proposition servercomputer 208 may generate a selling proposition for the claimant. Theselling proposition may include one or more insurance policies oradditional policies that the insurance company may wish to offer to theclaimant, in view of the claimant's demographic attributes, otherinsurance coverages, history with the insurance company, etc. Theselling proposition server computer 208 may generate the sellingproposition in accordance with decision rules that have beenpre-programmed into the selling proposition server computer 208.

At block 912, the selling proposition server computer 208 may route theselling proposition to the work queue of a sales employee of theinsurance company or with an affiliate of the insurance company. Thusthe selling proposition may be routed to a sales terminal 120 (FIG. 1)or otherwise brought to the attention of the sales employee. The salesemployee may, in turn, present the selling proposition to the claimant.

In some embodiments, claimants who have evidenced loyalty may be askedto permit the insurance company to send e-mail messages to theclaimants' friends and family. The e-mail messages may inform therecipients of the claimant's positive experience with the insurancecompany, and may provide to the recipients, or invite the recipients toask for, information concerning the insurance company's products.

The usefulness of the computer system 100 may be significantly enhancedby the above-noted practice of sound-recording and centrally storing theclaimants' responses to the surveys. This may allow supervisors, claimhandlers, sales employees and others to audibly reproduce the claimants'responses via their terminals. In this way, the insurance companyemployees may get a nuanced feeling for the claimants' wishes andattitudes by hearing the claimants' actual words and tone of voice. Forthis purpose, at least some of the terminals referred to herein may haveaudible sound reproduction capabilities.

The computer system 100, as described herein, may enable the insurancecompany to engender improved customer loyalty, and increased sales, byimproving the insurance company's claim handling performance.

The database storage module 102 and/or the loyalty data server computer206, as the case may be, may store data entered by the survey employeesand data representing sound recordings of the surveys together in onedatabase or in separate (e.g., linked) databases and/or in separate datastorage devices.

As an alternative to conducting the interim and final surveys bytelephone, either or both may be conducted by electronic mail (e.g., byproviding the claimant with a link to a suitable webpage). In someembodiments, when a survey is conducted by electronic mail, the computersystem 100 (e.g., the loyalty data server computer 206) may useartificial intelligence to interpret narrative responses from theclaimants to determine whether the responses are positive, neutral ornegative.

Up to this point, most if not all of the employees mentioned herein havebeen referred to as insurance company employees. Alternatively, however,the insurance company may contract out some of the activities describedherein. For example, the insurance company may contract out the surveys,so that the “survey employees” may be employed by an outside vendor, andthe survey terminals 106 (FIGS. 1 and 2) may be operated by the outsidevendor.

In some embodiments, insurance company employees may also be surveyedconcerning claim processes. For example, both claimants and claimhandling employees may be surveyed as to performance of outside vendorsretained by the insurance company. In some embodiments, the loyalty dataserver computer 206 (and/or the survey terminals 106) may include acapability for translating recorded voice files into text files. Theresulting text files may be stored in the computer system 100 inassociation with the corresponding claim files, and may be madeavailable to users of the computer system 100 in addition to or insteadof the recorded voice files.

Each terminal referred to herein may, for example, be constituted by aconventional personal computer that is similar in its hardware aspectsto the survey terminal described above with reference to FIG. 4.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “customer feedbackresponse” refers to a response to a survey question administered by oron behalf of an insurance company.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “open claim file”refers to a claim file in which a notice of claim has been received, andfor which the claim has not been resolved or closed.

As used herein and in the appended claims, prompting a survey employeeto administer a survey may include placing a claim file in the surveyemployee's work queue or otherwise bringing the claim file to theemployee's attention.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “dashboard display”refers to any computer-presented screen display that includespresentation of statistical information with a display element in a dialformat.

The process descriptions and flow charts contained herein should not beconsidered to imply a fixed order for performing process steps. Rather,process steps may be performed in any order that is practicable.

The present invention has been described in terms of several embodimentssolely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art willrecognize from this description that the invention is not limited to theembodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications andalterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system for interacting with apre-existing system to provide feedback acquisition and processing,comprising: a loyalty data server computer system in communication witha claim data management server computer, the loyalty data servercomputer system configured to access the claim data management servercomputer to obtain data indicative of open claim files qualified for aninterim claims transaction survey, and, based on a pre-determined numberof days after a first notice of loss, determine that claims arequalified for the interim claims transaction survey, and, for claimsdetermined to be qualified for the interim claims transaction survey,obtain a hyperlink pointing to the claim file location, in the claimdata management server computer, and place the obtained hyperlink in awork queue on a survey terminal, wherein: responsive to the first noticeof loss being associated with a workers' compensation insurance type,the loyalty data server computer system is configured to automaticallyset the predetermined number of days to a first value, and responsive tothe first notice of loss being associated with an automotive insurancetype, the loyalty data server computer system is configured toautomatically set the predetermined number of days to a second valuedifferent than the first value, a data acquisition processor forreceiving a plurality of first customer feedback responses and aplurality of second customer feedback responses to surveys, each of thefirst customer feedback responses being an interim claims transactionfeedback response received, in response to a first customer survey, bythe data acquisition processor from a claimant before the insuranceclaim is resolved by an insurance provider, each of the second customerfeedback responses being received by the data acquisition processorafter receiving the one of the plurality of first customer feedbackresponses associated with one of the insurance claims, the dataacquisition processor operative to classify at least one of the firstcustomer feedback responses in an attention-needed category and at leastone other of the first customer feedback responses in anattention-not-needed category; a workflow router in communication withthe data acquisition processor; a supervisor terminal in communicationwith the workflow router, the workflow router operative to route one ofthe plurality of claims to the supervisor terminal in response to thefirst customer feedback response associated with the claim beingclassified in the attention-needed category, wherein the supervisorterminal is to facilitate remedial action before the second customerfeedback response associated with the claim is received by the dataacquisition processor; a database storage unit in communication with thedata acquisition processor for storing data that represents the firstand second customer feedback responses; a database processor incommunication with the database storage unit, the database processoroperative to identify trends in customer feedback response data storedin the database storage unit; a display device in communication with thedatabase processor, the display device providing a screen displayindicative of an aggregation of the customer feedback response datastored in the database storage unit; wherein the second customerfeedback response associated with one of the claims is receivedresponsive to a survey dispatched after the routing of the claim to thesupervisor terminal in response to the first customer feedback responseassociated with the one of the claims being classified in theattention-needed category; and wherein the data acquisition processor isoperative to selectively classify the second customer feedback responseas company-loyal, and to selectively classify a first customer feedbackresponse in the attention-not-needed category as company-loyal; and asales processor in communication with the database storage unit, thedata acquisition processor and the workflow router and, responsive tothe selective classification of a customer feedback response ascompany-loyal, configured to generate a selling proposition for theclaimant who provided the customer feedback response.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising: storing in a database at least oneattribute of at least one of the first and second customer feedbackresponses.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the workflow router isoperative to route the claim in response to the at least one storedattribute.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the data acquisitionprocessor is also for receiving at least one additional customerfeedback response after receiving the second customer feedback response.5. The system of claim 1, further comprising: an input terminal forinputting the first and second customer feedback responses.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, further comprising: a voice recording device incommunication with the database storage unit for storing in the databasestorage unit customer voice recordings that contain the customerfeedback responses.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the voicerecording device is integrated with the input terminal.
 8. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the supervisor terminal includes a sound reproductiondevice for audibly reproducing the customer voice recordings stored inthe database storage unit.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the trendsidentified by the database processor are predictive of future customerloyalty behavior.
 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a salesterminal in communication with the workflow router; wherein: theworkflow router routes the selling proposition to the sales terminal.11. The system of claim 10, wherein the selling proposition proposesthat the claimant buy a line of insurance different from a line ofinsurance that was involved in the claim.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the sales terminal is operated by an affiliate of a company thatoperates the sales processor.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein: thesecond customer feedback response is received within a predeterminedtime after a trigger event; and the trigger event is one of: (a) closingthe file; (b) transition to a new claim manager; or (c) subrogation. 14.A computer system, comprising: a data storage unit; a plurality of firstterminals; a plurality of second terminals; a loyalty data servercomputer, comprising: a processor and a program memory in communicationwith the processor, the loyalty data server computer in communicationwith the data storage unit, the plurality of first terminals and theplurality of second terminals; the program memory storing programinstructions, the processor operative with the program instructions to:access a claim data management server computer to obtain data indicativeof open claim files; route first claim files and second claim files tothe first terminals, the routing comprising obtaining hyperlinkspointing to locations of the first and second claim files in the claimdata management server computer, placing the obtained hyperlinks in workqueues on the first terminals, the first claim files representing claimsfor which a first notice of loss has been received by the insuranceprovider from claimants a pre-determined number of days ago but that arenot yet resolved by the insurance provider, wherein: responsive to thefirst notice of loss being associated with a workers' compensationinsurance type, automatically setting the predetermined number of daysto a first value, and responsive to the first notice of loss beingassociated with an automotive insurance type, automatically setting thepredetermined number of days to a second value different than the firstvalue, the second claim files representing claims that have beenresolved, at least some of the second claim files having previously beenfirst claim files; receive from the first terminals first customerfeedback responses, comprising interim claims transaction feedbackresponses, generated with respect to surveys initiated by the insuranceprovider and administered to claimants for the first claim files andsecond customer feedback responses generated with respect to surveysadministered to claimants for the second claim files; selectively routeones of the first claim files to ones of the second terminals inresponse to the first customer feedback responses for the ones of thefirst claim files indicating that the claimants for the ones of thefirst claim files are not satisfied with handling of the ones of thefirst claim files, wherein remedial action is to be taken in connectionwith the selectively routed first claim files; wherein at least some ofthe second customer feedback responses are received responsive to asurvey administered after the routing of the claim to ones of the secondterminals in response to the first customer feedback response indicatingthat the claimant is not satisfied with handling of the first claimfile; and wherein the loyalty data server computer is operative toselectively classify the second customer feedback response ascompany-loyal and to selectively classify a first customer feedbackresponse indicating that a claimant is satisfied with handling of one ofthe first claim files as company-loyal; and a sales processor incommunication with the data storage unit and the processor, andconfigured to, responsive to the selective classification of a customerfeedback response as company-loyal, generate a selling proposition forthe claimant who provided the customer feedback response classified ascompany-loyal.
 15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein theprocessor is further operative with the program instructions to:aggregate the first customer feedback responses to generate interimfeedback response data; store the interim feedback response data in thedata storage unit; aggregate the second customer feedback responses togenerate resolved claim feedback response data; and store the resolvedclaim feedback response data in the data storage unit.
 16. The computersystem of claim 15, wherein the processor is further operative with theprogram instructions to: identify trends in the stored interim feedbackresponse data.
 17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein theprocessor is further operative with the program instructions to:identify trends in the stored resolved claim feedback response data. 18.The computer system of claim 15, further comprising: a display device incommunication with the processor; and wherein the processor is furtheroperative with the program instructions to: cause the display device tographically display the interim feedback response data and the resolvedclaim feedback response data.
 19. The computer system of claim 18,wherein the graphically displayed data is presented on the displaydevice as part of a dashboard display.
 20. The computer system of claim14, wherein at least one of the first customer feedback responses andthe second customer feedback responses include recordings of theclaimants' voices.
 21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein theprocessor is further operative with the program instructions to: storethe recordings of the claimants' voices in the data storage unit. 22.The computer system of claim 20, wherein the processor is furtheroperative with the program instructions to: include the recordings ofthe claimants' voices in the ones of the first claim files routed to theones of the second terminals.
 23. A method of operating a computersystem, the method comprising: accessing, by a loyalty data servercomputer, a claim data management server computer to obtain dataindicative of open claim files, the open claim files being associatedwith first notices of loss for insurance claims received apre-determined number of days ago but not yet resolved; routing, by theloyalty data server computer, open claim files to survey employees'terminals; prompting, by a computer processor of the loyalty data surveycomputer, the survey employees to initiate and administer interimsurveys to claimants who correspond to the open claim files, theprompting comprising, for claims determined to be qualified for aninterim survey, obtaining a hyperlink pointing to the claim filelocation in the claim data management server computer, and placing theobtained hyperlink in a work queue on a survey employee's terminal,wherein: responsive to the first notice of loss being associated with aworkers' compensation insurance type, automatically setting thepredetermined number of days to a first value, and responsive to thefirst notice of loss being associated with an automotive insurance type,automatically setting the predetermined number of days to a second valuedifferent than the first value, receiving first input via the surveyemployees' terminals, the first input indicative of the claimants'responses to the interim surveys and comprising interim claimstransaction feedback; identifying, from the claimants' responses, onesof the open claim files for which respective claimants are dissatisfiedwith handling of corresponding claims; routing, by the computerprocessor of the loyalty data server computer, the identified ones ofthe open claim files to supervisory employees' terminals associated withthe insurance provider, the supervisory employees responsible for claimhandlers who are handling the identified ones of the open claim files,wherein the supervisory employee is to facilitate remedial action forthe identified ones of the open claim files; aggregating the claimants'responses; storing the aggregated responses in a data storage unit;routing claim files, including at least some of the identified ones ofthe open claim files, after resolution of the claim files, the claimfiles being resolved claim files after resolution, to the surveyemployees' terminals; prompting, by the computer processor of theloyalty data server computer, the survey employees to administer finalsurveys to claimants who correspond to the resolved claim files;receiving second input via the survey employees' terminals, the secondinput indicative of claimants' responses to the final surveys, whereinat least some of the second input is responsive to ones of the finalsurveys administered to the claimants after the routing of the openclaim file of the claimant to supervisory employees' terminals inresponse to the open claim file being identified as one for which therespective claimant is dissatisfied; aggregating the claimants'responses to the final surveys; storing the aggregated claimants'responses to the final surveys in the data storage unit; identifyingones of the claimants whose responses to the final surveys indicatecustomer loyalty, including at least one of the claimants identified asdissatisfied based on the first input; and generating, by a salesprocessor in communication with the computer processor of the loyaltydata server computer, responsive to the identification of ones of theclaimants whose responses to the final surveys indicate customerloyalty, selling propositions to the ones of the claimants identified ascustomer loyal.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:presenting insurance coverage selling propositions to the identifiedones of the claimants.
 25. The method of claim 23, further comprising:displaying in graphical form, on a display device, the aggregatedclaimants' responses to the interim and final surveys.
 26. The system ofclaim 1, further wherein: if the first notice of loss is associated witha property damage insurance type, automatically setting thepredetermined number of days to a third value different than the firstand second values.